The Revolutionary Consciousness of Surrealism Faced with Totalitarianism
Michael Richardson
Journal of Avant-Garde Studies August 15, 2024 DOI: 10.1163/25896377-00402005 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Surrealism's revolutionary potential is best understood through socio-psychological processes like 'egregores' and 'silent transformations' rather than through conventional political alliances. |
Abstract
Surrealism presents itself as a revolutionary movement, but it isn’t clear what sort of revolution it envisages. In the early years the Surrealists had a complicated relationship with the French communist party that ended in the 1930s in disillusionment. Flirtations with Trotskyism and anarchism were hardly more encouraging, and although in the early 1960s they enthusiastically welcomed the 1959 Cuban Revolution, this once again soon turned to disillusionment. This article looks at the experience of the Surrealists as the clouds of totalitarianism began to form in the 1930s. It reappraises what ‘revolution’ might mean in the context of Surrealism, taking particular account of Pierre Mabille’s 1937 study of egregores, that is, the socio-psychological process by which aggregates of people solidify into recognizable entities able to effect social and political change. From this perspective François Jullien’s notion of ‘silent transformations’ is also considered.